Open Government in the EU

A new internal note reveals renewed efforts by a small group of member states to take Council transparency forward.

By Maarten Hillebrandt

The embattled EU is currently dealing with issues within, beyond, and on its borders all at the same time. Within its borders, the fresh conservative government of prime minister Cameron has made its first steps to arrange a ‘new deal’ for UK membership, while Hungarian first minister Orban insists that it can -and shall- continue a political debate about the death penalty. Outside of its borders, conflicts in a host of neighbouring countries, particularly Ukraine and Syria, are putting the EU’s security policy under pressure. And on the borders, tens of thousands of asylum seekers and other migrants are attempting the dangerous Mediterranean sea-crossing hoping to reach Italian -and thereby, European- soil.

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The ongoing financial crisis in the Eurozone may not only have the effect of furthering integration, embodied in a Commissioner for national budgets. Dutch news website Nu.nl reports that the Dutch General Accounting Office has called for more openness about expenditure of European funds.

According to the body which controls government expenditure, expenditure in the EU has been falling short of accountability standards for years. Although 90% of European funds (particularly CAP money) are spent by the member states, transparency about the process is required. At the moment however, only four EU members provide such transparency: Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

Read more on the Accounting Office’s special website on EU accountability (in Dutch).

What did the first years of Council transparency look like?

In this short video clip (in French), former Council spokesman Norbert Schwaiger elaborates on a number of factors that, according to him, contributed to furthering transparency in the Council context.